Shanghai: 18 injured as van ploughs into pedestrians

Three people seriously wounded, government says, as vehicle mounts pavement close to Starbucks coffee shop in China

Eighteen people were injured, three seriously, after a vehicle mounted the pavement in a busy part of central Shanghai and ploughed into pedestrians, the city government said.

According to preliminary investigations, the fire was caused by a 40-year-old driver surnamed Chen who was smoking a cigarette inside the vehicle, the Shanghai public security bureau said on its official Weibo feed.

#UPDATE: The minivan that hit pedestrians in front of a Starbucks store in Shanghai was carrying gas tanks and caught fire at time of the accident, witnesses say. The fire has been put out now. pic.twitter.com/A8sqk3m7F7